1. Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an ultrasonic imaging apparatus and a method for controlling the same, and more particularly to a technology for determining whether a position sensor mounted to an ultrasonic probe is separated from the ultrasonic probe.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ultrasonic imaging apparatus applies an ultrasonic signal from the surface of an object (for example, a human body) to a target site of the inside of the body of the object, non-invasively acquires tomograms of soft tissues or images regarding blood flow using information of reflected ultrasonic signals (reflected ultrasonic echo signals), and is used for various medical purposes, for example, observation of the internal images of the target object, detection of foreign materials, etc.
The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has compact size and low price, displays a diagnostic image in real time, as compared to other image diagnostic apparatuses, for example, an X-ray diagnostic apparatus, an X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanner, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus, a nuclear medical diagnostic apparatus, etc. In addition, since the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus does not cause radiation exposure, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus may be inherently safe. Accordingly, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus has been widely utilized in medical imaging fields as well as other imaging diagnosis devices.
The ultrasonic images obtained from the ultrasonic imaging apparatus may be matched with medical images obtained from other medical imaging apparatuses. Image registration (image matching) is a process for modifying different images and displaying the modified images on a single coordinate system. Image registration (image matching) may reconstruct two or more images into a single synthesized image. A user can recognize how to match different images with one another using image registration technology.
In order to compare images of a diseased part of the patient according to lapse of time or to compare images of a target object with images of normal tissues, image registration technology has been widely used in medical image diagnosis. In addition, in order to diagnose the presence or absence of a disease on the basis of images in which merits and demerits of different imaging modalities are reflected, image registration technology for representing several acquired images in the same space and comparing the acquired images with one another has been widely used.
In order to implement registration of such medical images, a position sensor for acquiring position information of an ultrasonic probe is used. In order to acquire correct position information for image registration, the position sensor must be correctly mounted to the ultrasonic probe, and must detect the position of the ultrasonic probe while simultaneously receiving less influence from the peripheral environment. Therefore, in recent times, many developers and companies are conducting intensive research into technology for determining whether the position sensor is not separated from the ultrasonic probe.